Competitive Information for Tentacruel [Black/White]
Water / Poison
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Tentacruel? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Black/White Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Black/White generation metagame.
PolitoedFerrothornJirachiLandorus-TherianKeldeoThundurus-TherianTornadusGliscorLatiasChansey
Tentacruel is an interesting Water and Poison-typed Pokemon. It's a usual sight to see Tentacruel out in the 5th generation battlefield. Tentacruel can usually be found in the OU tier (Overused). Tentacruel is weak to Electric, Ground, and Psychic-typed attacks.
Item: Black Sludge / Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 248 Hp / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Moveset:
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Protect / Substitute
- Toxic / Toxic Spikes
Physical Wall Tentacruel (Popular/Trending)
Tentacruel is a wonderful Physical Wall. It's purpose is to take a decent amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Tentacruel last longer regaining it's health points every turn. With Rain Dish, if rain dance is active Tentacruel heals 1/16 of its max hp each turn.
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Tentacruel from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Tentacruel this turn).
♦ Substitute is a status move (Tentacruel takes 1/4 its max hp to put in a substitute).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
♦ Toxic Spikes is a status move (poisons grounded foes on switch-in. max 2 layers).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs10a49
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 Def / 244 Spe
Moveset:
- Waterfall / Dive
- Double-Edge / Return
- Poison Jab / Poison Sting
- Payback / Thief
Physical Sweeper Tentacruel (Clear Body)
Tentacruel is a phenomenal Physical Sweeper. It attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Tentacruel from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Tentacruel's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Clear Body, prevents other pokemon from lowering Tentacruel's stat stages.
♦ Dive is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (dives underwater turn 1, strikes turn 2).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Poison Sting is a physical STAB-boosted 15-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Payback is a physical 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Tentacruel moves after the target).
♦ Thief is a physical 40-base power Dark-type move (if your Tentacruel has no item, it steals the target's).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs11a49
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 12 Def / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Moveset:
- Surf / Scald
- Sludge Wave / Sludge Bomb
- Ice Beam / Aurora Beam
- Giga Drain
Special Sweeper Tentacruel (Clear Body)
Tentacruel is a phenomenal Special Sweeper. It is meant to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Tentacruel from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Tentacruel's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Clear Body, prevents other pokemon from lowering Tentacruel's stat stages.
♦ Scald is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (30% chance to burn the target).
♦ Sludge Wave is a special STAB-boosted 95-base power Poison-type move (10% chance to poison adjacent pokemon).
♦ Sludge Bomb is a special STAB-boosted 90-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Ice Beam is a special 95-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
♦ Aurora Beam is a special 65-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to lower the target's attack by 1 stage).
♦ Giga Drain is a special 75-base power Grass-type move (Tentacruel recovers 50% of the damage dealt).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs12a49
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Naive (+Spe, -SpD)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain / Venoshock
- Ice Beam
Tentacruel Physical Tank (Cruel Fate)
Tentacruel is a decent Physical Tank. It attempts to take a hefty amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. With Liquid Ooze, Tentacruel damages those draining hp from it for as much as they would heal.
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Tentacruel from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Giga Drain is a special 75-base power Grass-type move (Tentacruel recovers 50% of the damage dealt).
♦ Venoshock is a special STAB-boosted 65-base power Poison-type move (power doubles if the target is poisoned).
♦ Ice Beam is a special 95-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs13a49
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 Hp / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Moveset:
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
Tentacruel Physical Wall (Hentaisquid)
Tentacruel is a wonderful Physical Wall. It is meant to take a decent amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. With Rain Dish, if rain dance is active Tentacruel heals 1/16 of its max hp each turn. This tentacruel is best set for Rain teams! Scald is an obvious, decently strong STAB move that has a high chance to burn, which is always good. Protect is so you can stall out the Black Sludge+Rain Dish recovery method is AMAZING. Toxic Spikes is just a useful hazard that is uncommon on most Pokemon in the OU tier.
♦ Toxic Spikes is a status move (poisons grounded foes on switch-in. max 2 layers).
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Tentacruel from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Tentacruel this turn).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs14a49
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 248 Hp / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Moveset:
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin / Acid Spray
- Toxic / Knock Off
Tentacruel Special Wall (Cruel Spinspike )
Tentacruel is an outstanding Special Wall. It attempts to take a considerable amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. With Liquid Ooze, Tentacruel damages those draining hp from it for as much as they would heal.
♦ Toxic Spikes is a status move (poisons grounded foes on switch-in. max 2 layers).
♦ Rapid Spin is a physical 20-base power Normal-type move (frees Tentacruel from hazards, binding, leech seed).
♦ Acid Spray is a special STAB-boosted 40-base power Poison-type move (100% chance to lower the target's special defense by 2 stages).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
♦ Knock Off is a physical 20-base power Dark-type move (removes the target's held item).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs15a49
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Tentacruel? These builds have been optimized for Black/White Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Black/White generation metagame.
PolitoedFerrothornJirachiLandorus-TherianKeldeoThundurus-TherianTornadusGliscorLatiasChansey
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 Def / 244 Spe
Moveset:
- Waterfall / Dive
- Double-Edge / Return
- Poison Jab / Poison Sting
- Payback / Thief
Doubles Physical Sweeper Tentacruel (Clear Body)
Tentacruel is pretty popular Physical Sweeper. This moveset is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Tentacruel from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Tentacruel's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Clear Body, prevents other pokemon from lowering Tentacruel's stat stages.
♦ Dive is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (dives underwater turn 1, strikes turn 2).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Poison Jab is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Poison Sting is a physical STAB-boosted 15-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Payback is a physical 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Tentacruel moves after the target).
♦ Thief is a physical 40-base power Dark-type move (if your Tentacruel has no item, it steals the target's).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fd10a49
Item: Life Orb / Poison Barb
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 12 Def / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Moveset:
- Sludge Wave / Sludge Bomb
- Surf / Scald
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
Doubles Special Sweeper Tentacruel (Clear Body)
Tentacruel is a spectacular Special Sweeper. It was designed to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Tentacruel from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Tentacruel's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Clear Body, prevents other pokemon from lowering Tentacruel's stat stages.
♦ Sludge Bomb is a special STAB-boosted 90-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Surf is a special STAB-boosted 95-base power Water-type move (hits adjacent pokemon. double damage on dive).
♦ Scald is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (30% chance to burn the target).
♦ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
♦ Ice Beam is a special 95-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
♦ Giga Drain is a special 75-base power Grass-type move (Tentacruel recovers 50% of the damage dealt).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fd11a49
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Tentacruel learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Tentacruel can perform in Black/White. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive BW Move and Ability Combos for Tentacruel
- Moves: Swagger + Screech
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Magic Coat
- Moves that inflict status (and combo with the move Hex): Toxic, Scald
Moves that boost Tentacruel's stats
- Acupressure
- Barrier
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Tentacruel
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Scald
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
Common Effort Values for Tentacruel in Black and White
- Timid Nature ( 248/0/244/0/0/16/ )
- Timid Nature ( 252/0/240/0/0/16/ )
- Optimize Tentacruel's EV spread for Pokemon Black and White
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Tentacruel in Black/White. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
We currently do not have any competitive video guides for Tentacruel in Black/White
Want to have your Competitive Pokemon videos sponsored on our site? Contact us!
Some builds on this page have been hidden, click here to display them
Here are the best movesets for Tentacruel. Top rated Tentacruel Black/White movesets. You can find Tentacruel builds Black/White. Tentacruel movesets Black/White are listed here. VGC Tentacruel Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Tentacruel in Black/White along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution